People v. Czirban
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Czirban was charged with regulatory crimes following a fatal 2016 accident involving his bulldozer, which had been assisting the California Department of Forestry and Fire (Cal Fire) at a wildfire in Monterey County. Czirban was convicted of procuring or offering a false or forged instrument, tax evasion, failure to collect, account for, or pay taxes, and misdemeanor failure to secure payment of workers’ compensation insurance. The court suspended imposition of sentence and placed Czirban on felony probation for three years with conditions, including the payment of a $10,000 fine under Labor Code section 3700.5.
The court of appeal rejected Czirban’s arguments that his convictions for tax evasion, failure to pay taxes, and failure to secure payment of workers’ compensation insurance must be reversed because he did not have an employment relationship with his bulldozer drivers, an element of those offenses. The court remanded in part. Assembly Bill 1950 (2019-2020) subsequently limited the term of probation to two years. The trial court failed to understand that it had discretion whether to impose the $10,000 fine.
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